Written by leading authorities on theory, research, and practice in preventing HIV with diverse Latino populations and communities

HIV Prevention With Latinos

Theory, Research, and Practice

Edited by Kurt C. Organista

Description

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Latinos now comprise 16% of the general population as they continue to be one of the fastest-growing populations in the United States. However, according to recent CDC data, Latinos also account for a disproportionately high number of total new AIDS cases. Rates of AIDS among U.S. Latinos are second only to African Americans, and about 3.5-times higher than for non-Hispanic Whites. Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS increases with ethnic and racial minority status that is so often conflated with socioeconomic status. Additional factors, such as gender, sexual orientation, and stigma, also increase vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and require us to think comprehensively about the unique structural-environmental, social and cultural factors that
frame risk for HIV for U.S. Latinos.

This book, written by leading authorities on theory, research, and practice in preventing HIV with diverse Latino populations and communities, responds to the diminishing returns of the behavioral model of HIV risk by deconstructing the many social ecological contexts of risk within the Latino experience. Each of the chapters explores the most innovative thinking and original research on the prevention of HIV for a comprehensive span of subgroups and situations, including: preventing HIV in LGBT Latinos through community involvement and AIDS activism; in migrant laborers by scaling up community and cultural resources; in adolescent Latinas by facilitating communication with their mothers about sex; by decreasing the racism, homophobia, and
poverty often experienced by Latino men who have sex with men; in transgender Latinas by decreasing familial, peer, and social rejection, and by providing structures of care at local, state, and national levels; and in Latinas by improving their economic autonomy as well as improving gender-equity ideologies among men.

This is a timely and urgently needed effort by the best researchers and interventionists in the field today. Latino-serving agencies and professionals, as well as the growing number of Latino-focused HIV prevention researchers, graduate students, and faculty, will find this an invaluable resource, reference, and guide.

2. Enhancing Peer Norms, Self-Efficacy, Self Esteem, and Social Support for Safe Sex in Naturalistic Environments: The Role of Community Involvement in Latino Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender CommunitiesJesus Ramirez-Valles, Lisa M. Kuhns, and Haiyan Li

Nelson Varas-DíazCenter for the Study of Social Differences and Health Graduate School of Social Work University of Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto Rico

Emily E. VasquezSociomedical Sciences Mailman School of Public HealthColumbia UniversityNew York, New York

Miriam Y. Vega Latino Commission on AIDSNew
York, New York

Antonia M. VillarruelSchool of Nursing University of MichiganAnn Arbor, Michigan

Paula WorbyMulticultural InstituteBerkeley, California

Maria Cecilia ZeaDepartment of PsychologyGeorge Washington UniversityWashington, District of Columbia

HIV Prevention With Latinos

Theory, Research, and Practice

Edited by Kurt C. Organista

Reviews and Awards

"The number of Hispanics living in the US recently reached 50 million, making them the largest minority. This is also a population where the HIV/AIDS problem is growing and for which a comprehensive approach is direly needed. This book addresses the prevention of this disease from a medical, cultural, gender, and community perspective, which makes it unique and extraordinarily useful." -- Julio Frenk, MD, MPH, PhD, Dean, Harvard School of Public Health

"The sub rosa and stigmatized status of HIV and AIDS in U.S. Latino communities warrants much greater attention in American health and social services research. This book is a vital step in moving Latino HIV research to international visibility. The contents provide a rich compendium of knowledge and insights for academics, policymakers, and program developers. The chapters reflect experienced and authoritative authorships, and the volume responds to a void of pragmatic information and provides a scholarly foundation for a higher level of research intensity and analysis that is badly needed." -- William A. Vega, PhD, Provost Professor, University of Southern California

HIV Prevention With Latinos

Theory, Research, and Practice

Edited by Kurt C. Organista

From Our Blog

By Kurt C. Organista
30 years into the epidemic I remain struck by is how HIV continues to exploit our country's entrenched social, cultural, and economic cleavages ' almost to the point of appearing to be a homophobic, racist, sexist, and transphobic virus! Latinos now rank second to African Americans in their disproportionately high rates of AIDS cases: 50% & 20%, respectively, despite only composing 13% & 15% of the US population. Consider for example that 75% of AIDS cases in the US are among men who have sex with men (MSM), and the same is true within US Latino population.